Silent Cal's Almanack: The Homespun Wit And Wisdom Of Vermont's Calvin Coolidge - Paperback

by David Pietrusza (Author)

A treasury of the wit and wisdom of Calvin Coolidge, America's surprisingly eloquent 30th President.
You may ask "Why Coolidge?" Everyone asks "Why Coolidge?"
We are quite used it. Here is my sound-bite answer (or, at least, one of them): Every politician that comes down the pike, promises you four or five of the same things. He or she will cut taxes, reduce unemployment, spur growth, balance the budget, and suppress inflation. They all promise such things. They never do them--and we fall for it every time.
Calvin Coolidge accomplished all of the above--and the historians say he was in office for five years and never did a damn thing. It's time to set the record straight.

"Silent Cal's Almanack" includes:

• The ultimate distillation of Calvin Coolidge political wisdom.
• A selection of Silent Cal's key speeches.
• A thought-provoking original biographical essay.
• A fascinating and unique 50-page portfolio of Coolidge photos, editorial cartoons and campaign memorabilia.
• A Coolidge timeline.* A Coolidge bibliography.

"He wrote simply, innocently, artlessly," H. L. Mencken once noted regarding Coolidge's prose, "He forgot all the literary affectations and set down his ideas exactly as they came into his head. The result was a bald, but strangely appealing piece of writing-a composition of almost Lincolnian austerity and beauty. The true Vermonter was in every line of it."

Supreme Court Justice David Souter recently wrote of Calvin Coolidge: "The simple beauty of his English prose exceeds anything I could say in praise of it."

Featured on the Glenn Beck Show and C-SPAN's BookTV.

Author Biography

Amity Shlaes calls David Pietrusza "an authority on the 1920s and [Calvin] Coolidge . . . David Pietrusza has brought Coolidge back to life with his volumes about the president . . ." He is also the editor of "Calvin Coolidge: A Documentary Biography" and "Coolidge on the Founders: Cal;Reflections on the American Revolution & the Founding Fathers." He is also the author of The Roaring Twenties, an examination of the era for younger readers. A respected commentator, Pietrusza has appeared on C-SPAN BookTV (including "In Depth"), C-SPAN American History TV, MSNBC, The History Channel, NPR, the Fox News Network, Serius XM Radio, ESPN, and the Fox Sports Channel. *** "Calvin Coolidge was one of the greatest presidents of the 20th century and is certainly the most underrated. This book, compiled by one of my favorite historians, will give readers a full appreciation of why silent Cal's wisdom shines like a beacon through the fog of historical amnesia."--Jonah Goldberg "delightful" -- Burton Folsom "great work" -- George Will "a gem of a book"--Elizabeth Kantor "very good"--Blog and Mablog "I dipped into this treasury and gleaned much from [Coolidge's] wisdom."--Thomas F. Roeser